Classic Nissan R32 Skyline GT-R to get electric power

Japanese car-maker Nissan has announced it will fit one of its most iconic models – the R32 Skyline GT-R – with an electric motor, but don’t expect the conversion service to be carried out at your local dealer.

In a post on social media platform Twitter, Nissan uploaded a 20-second video which shows lights fading up on the back of an R32-generation Skyline GT-R – built between 1989 and 1995 – before transitioning to reveal text which reads “R32 EV”.

Despite the concept car being powered by a silent electric motor, the video includes the sound of the Nissan Skyline GT-R’s 2.6-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder engine idling in the background – hinting at the concept car being fitted with a speaker to recreate the coupe’s exhaust noise.

The Twitter post also includes a link to Nissan’s Japanese website for the project, which confirms the electric-powered Skyline GT-R will be a one-off concept.

“34 years after its debut, this legendary car continues to fascinate many fans,” the translated website reads.

“We at Nissan will produce a concept model of this R32 (Skyline) GT-R that has been converted to EV with the latest electrification technology.”

According to Nissan, the electric Skyline GT-R is the brainchild of one engineer who was inspired to join the Japanese car-maker due to his love of the all-wheel-drive sports coupe.

When the R32-generation Nissan Skyline GT-R was launched in August 1989, it became an overnight classic on the road and racetrack, with its 2.6-litre engine delivering a claimed 206kW and 353Nm to all four wheels through a five-speed manual transmission.

In 1991, 100 examples of the R32 Skyline GT-R were imported by Nissan Australia and sold for close to $107,000 each, arriving just as the model was starting to dominate in Australian motorsports.

The Skyline GT-R’s four-wheel-drive and four-wheel-steering systems meant it had a massive grip advantage compared to its rivals, leading to the factory-backed Nissan team – Gibson Motorsport – to win the 1990, 1991 and 1992 Australian Touring Car Championships, as well as the 1991 and 1992 Bathurst 1000 endurance races.

While production of the R32-generation Skyline GT-R wrapped up in 1994, Nissan announced a “heritage program” for the cult classic model in 2017, allowing owners to order brand new spare parts for their cars from Japan.

The GT-R nameplate continued across the Skyline’s R33 (1995-1998) and R34 (1999-2002) generations before being revived as its own standalone model from 2007.

The Nissan GT-R – also known as the R35 – is entering its 16th year of production, with a replacement expected to arrive in the coming years.

While previous reports have suggested the next-generation ‘R36’ GT-R will go electric in 2030, former Nissan engineer Hiroshi Tamura told media in August 2022 the car-maker had not yet decided whether the upcoming model will switch to electric power.

The announcement of the electric-powered Nissan Skyline GT-R concept follows Toyota’s presentation of two zero-emissions Corolla AE86 coupes in January, powered by batteries and a petrol engine converted to run on hydrogen, respectively.

Nissan is yet to announce specific details about the electric Skyline GT-R, such as how much power it will make and when we can expect to see the finished project.